Portable cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A portable cleaning device comprising a storage tank for storing a rinsing fluid, a pressurizer for pressurizing the rinsing fluid in the storage tank, a brush for scrubbing the object to be cleaned, and a sprayer contained within the brush for spraying the rinsing fluid from the storage tank onto the object to be cleaned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to cleaning devices, and morespecifically to a portable cleaning device.

2. Background

Automobiles have long been, and continue to be, a critical component ofour transportation system. As a result, a large percentage of people useautomobiles as their main mode of transportation. Many automobile ownersconsider their automobile to be much more than a mode of transportation,and utilize their automobile as an expression of their personality. Assuch, many automobile owners prefer to maintain the appearance of theirautomobile in new or like-new condition. Further, in climates thatexperience inclement weather such as snow, sleet and rain, keeping anautomobile clean takes on added importance due to the salt, sand andother chemicals used to maintain roads in these adverse weatherconditions. In order to prevent corrosion, automobiles that are used inthese conditions must be cleansed periodically.

Accordingly, there is a high demand for car care products formaintaining the appearance of automobiles. This has led to a plethora ofcar care products that are widely available including car waxes, carwash solutions, car wash sponges, car wash cloths and towels, car washbrushes, etc.

Unfortunately, cleaning automobiles using these products is a timeconsuming and labor intensive task. Also, cleaning an automobile duringcold weather is extremely difficult and uncomfortable. Therefore, duringthe time of year when cleaning the automobile is most critical due tothe risk of corrosion, automobile owners are less likely to clean theirautomobiles, thus leading to premature corrosion. Automatic car washfacilities are available. However, because the automobile must be drivento these facilities, this presents an added inconvenience and timedrain. Also, some of these facilities are expensive and use devices thatscratch the surface of the automobile.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that can clean an automobilequickly and easily, even during cold weather, and that can be used athome without the need to travel to an automatic car wash facility, oranother location.

One type of car wash device is described in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication US 2002/0148907 A1. This reference discloses a portablespray car wash device that dispenses liquid cleaners and waxes forcleaning an automobile. However, the car wash device disclosed in thisdevice does not use water. Therefore, this device cannot effectivelywash an automobile.

U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2002/0117883 A1 discloses anindustrial cleaner for cleaning sinks, toilets, shower stalls, lockerrooms, etc. The disclosed cleaning device includes a brush 20 forscrubbing the surface to be cleaned, and a sprayer tube 18 connected toa spray gun 26 for spraying cleaner fluid and rinsing fluid on theobject to be cleaned. Since the brush 20 and sprayer gun 26 areseparate, they must be operated independently, thereby making thecleaner difficult to use.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,711 discloses a portable garden sprayer for sprayingliquids such as pesticides. The sprayer includes a wheeled frame 300, adetachable tank 100, and a power head 200 for pressurizing the tank 100.The disclosed device is only a sprayer and does not include anycomponents for cleaning objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a portable cleaning device thateffectively cleans automobiles, boats, motorcycles, outdoor furniture,driveways, patios, decks, swimming pools, houses, animals, etc. Thecleaning device is easy to use, lightweight, and economical. Thecleaning device of the present invention is a completely self-containeddevice that can quickly and effectively clean automobiles and otherobjects anywhere, year round. No water hose or electrical cords arenecessary. Further, the present invention is completely portable and canbe transported without leakage. The cleaning device of the presentinvention can store enough water to effectively wash a normal car withless than three gallons of water. Washing a car using a standard hosecan required over 15 gallons.

Features of the invention include a storage tank for storing a rinsingfluid, a pressurizer for pressurizing the rinsing fluid in the storagetank, a brush for scrubbing the object to be cleaned, and a sprayercontained within the brush for spraying the rinsing fluid from thestorage tank onto the object to be cleaned. Other aspects of theinvention aspects of the invention are disclosed infra.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent in view of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 3A-3D show a clip for attaching the brush to the handle.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a schematic representation of the brush of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are schematic views of the sprayer of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a tube attached to the valve for operatingthe brush of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the valve for operating thebrush of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the hose attached to the tank of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be described herein with reference to anillustrative embodiment of a portable cleaning device.

The portable cleaning device according to the instant invention isschematically illustrated in FIG. 1 as reference numeral 10. Theportable cleaning device 10 comprises, inter alia, a base frame 20, astorage tank 30 for storing a rinsing fluid such as water, disposed onthe base frame 20, a pressurizer 40 for pressurizing the rinsing fluidstored in the storage tank 30, a brush 50 for scrubbing the object to becleaned, and a hose 60 for supplying the rinsing fluid stored in thestorage tank 30 to the brush 50. The hose 60 can be any flexible hose,for example a hose made of rubber, vinyl, etc. A rubber fuel line for anautomobile with an inner diameter of 0.64 cm (0.25 inches) has beenfound to be sufficient. The hose 60 is of sufficient length (e.g. 3 m)to allow the brush to effectively reach the object to be cleaned.

The tank 30 includes a release valve for relieving the pressure in thetank, for example when the tank is opened for refilling. As shown inFIG. 1, the release valve comprises a vent lever 45. When the vent lever45 is pulled in an upward direction, the pressure in the tank 30 isreleased. The activation of the vent lever 45 also can function tounlock the pressurizer 40, so that it can be removed by turning thepressurizer in a counter clockwise direction.

The pressurizer 40 can be a battery powered pump or a manual pump. Inthe case of a battery powered pump, the VersaPac® portable batterysystem manufactured by Black & Decker can be used. In the case of amanual pump, the hand-pump used with the PortaSpray multi-purposesprayer 60-130 manufactured by Hudson can be used, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the base frame 20 is supported by 2 wheels 70 thatare connected by an axle (not shown). A handle 80 attached to the baseframe 20 extends vertically from the base frame 20. The handle 80 isused to tilt and move the portable cleaning device 10 in any directionon wheels 70. The handle 80 also can be used to lift the cleaningdevice. Also, a nylon lifting strap 85 can be placed in the lower end ofthe tank 30 adjacent to the wheels 70 to assist in lifting the cleaningdevice. The handle 80 includes a U-shaped end 90, as shown in FIG. 1, sothat the user can easily manipulate the portable cleaning device 10. Theend of the handle 80 can be shaped into additional configurations thatpromote the mobility of the cleaning device, such as Y-shape, T-shape,and J-shape, etc. A rubber or foam cover 100 is placed over the U-shapedend 90 to promote gripability, as shown in FIG. 1. Also, the handle 80is retractable to further increase the compactability of the cleaningdevice.

As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 80 includes a clip 110 for clipping thebrush 50 onto the handle 80. The clip 110 can be made from a standardbroom holder clip, which can be mounted to the handle 80 with a riv nut.Such a standard broom holder includes two flexible, curved, plasticextensions that receive and lock the brush 50 therebetween when thebrush 50 is inserted between the extensions. FIGS. 3A and 3B show astandard clip and a modified clip, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3B,the clip includes a clearance hole through which a fastener can beplaced in order to attach the clip 110 to the handle 80. FIG. 3C shows aside view of the modified clip of FIG. 3B. FIG. 3D shows the handleattached to the modified clip.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bottle holder 120 for holding a spray bottle 130containing a cleaning solution is attached to the handle 80. Thecleaning solution is chosen based upon the desired use of the cleaningdevice 10. For example, if the cleaning device 10 is being used to washan automobile, then the spray bottle 130 can be filled with car washsolution. The bottle holder 120 can have any shape that effectively canhold a bottle or any other type of storage device. For example, thebottle holder 120 can be made from an automobile cup holder of the typethat is mounted to the interior of the car door, for example, modelnumber 91132F made by Custom Accessory Inc, (Niles, Ill.). This type ofbottle holder is mounted to the car door by a U-shaped bracket that isinserted between the door window and the inside of the door of theautomobile. When this type of bottle holder is used in the presentinvention, the end of the U-shaped bracket is removed and the bottleholder 120 is attached to the handle 80 with a riv nut. In addition,plastic tie wraps can be used to connect the bottle holder 120 to thehandle 80.

A schematic view of the brush 50 is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As shownin FIG. 4A, the brush 50 includes a flat end portion 200 and handleextension 210 extending away from the flat end portion 200 in adirection parallel to the plane in which the flat end portion 200extends. The handle extension 210 is used to hold and manipulate thebrush 50. The handle extension 210 can be extendable to increase thelength of the handle, thereby making it possible to clean hard-to-reachplaces. A foam or rubber cover 220 is placed over the handle extension210 to promote gripability. Rubber tape used for bicycle handlebars hasbeen found to work well, although other foam or rubber materials alsocan be used. To further promote gripability, a rope 230 can be wrappedaround the handle extension 210 and disposed between the cover 220 andthe handle extension 210. The brush 50 also includes bristles 240 forscrubbing the object to be cleaned. The bristles 240 extend in adirection perpendicular to the flat end portion 200. The bristles can bemade of a material that effectively cleans objects without scratching,such as nylon, polystyrene or polyethylene, as in the brush TW-124 madeby Turtle Wax.

A sprayer 250 is attached to the brush 50 for spraying the rinsing fluidfrom the storage tank 30 onto the object to be cleaned. As shown in FIG.4, the sprayer 250 is disposed on top of the flat end portion 200. Thesprayer 250 is strategically placed close to the end of the bristles 240of the brush 50 so that the rinsing fluid can be effectively sprayedonto the object to be cleaned. Preferably, the sprayer 250 is positionedwithin 0.635 cm (0.25 inches) of the end of the brush 50.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the sprayer 250 includes an end cap 252 disposed atthe end of the sprayer 250. Inside the sprayer 250 is an orifice 254.The flow rate and flow pattern of the sprayer 250 can be adjusted byrotating the end cap 252. The spray pattern of the sprayer 250 also canbe changed by changing the configuration of the end of the sprayer 250,which connects to the end cap 252. For example, in FIG. 5A, the end ofthe sprayer includes a thru-hole 254. If the thru-hole 254 is changed toa cut-out portion, as shown in FIG. 5B, the spray pattern will change toa fan-shaped spray pattern. FIG. 5C shows an end view of the sprayer ofFIG. 5B.

The sprayer 250 is attached to the hose 60 through a tube 260. As shownin FIG. 5A, the sprayer 250 is screwed over the tube 260. The tube 260is a plastic tube having an outer diameter of approximately 1.02 cm (0.4inches). The tube 260 is attached to the hose 60 through the valve 310that controls the flow of rinsing fluid through the brush 50, as shownin FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the tube 260 is attached to the valve 310through a screw-on flange. As the tube 260 is screwed onto the valve310, an O-ring 262 compresses against an O-ring sealing surface 264. Theconnection of the tube 260 with the hose 60 is also shown in FIG. 7.

The activation of the sprayer 250 is controlled by a lever 300 thatcontrols a valve 310, which turns on and off the flow of rinsing fluidfrom the storage tank 30 to the tube 260. The lever 300 controls thevalve 310 by pressing in a plunger 320, which allows the cleaningsolution to flow through the valve 310, as shown in FIG. 7. The flow ofcleaning solution through the valve 310 is proportional to thedeflection of the plunger 320, whose position is controlled by the lever300. Although FIG. 7 shows a variable flow valve 310, an inclinedirectional check valve that simply toggles between flow and no flowalso can be used. As shown in FIG. 7, the plunger 320 is attached to aspring 330, which controls the deflection of the plunger 320. The valve310 is attached to the hose 60 through a threaded connection and a barb340 to maintain the seal therebetween. A strain relief casing 350 isused for strain relief of the hose 60.

As shown in FIG. 4, the foam or rubber cover 220 wrapped around thehandle extension 210 functions to attach the tube 260 to the handleextension 210. Additionally, plastic tie wraps can be used to attach thetube 260 to the handle extension 210.

Alternatively, the sprayer 250 can be disposed inside the brush 50. Inthis case, the brush 50 can be made of two molded portions and thesprayer 250 and tube 260 are disposed inside the brush 50 between the 2molded portions. In this case, the two molded portions can be attachedwith screws or epoxy. Also, the tube 260 and sprayer 250 can be placedin a milled-out portion of the brush 50 and covered with epoxy.Alternatively, the tube 260 can be placed in a hole that extends throughthe brush 50.

As shown in FIG. 8, the tube 60 is connected to the tank 30 through areducing barb union 400. The tube 60 is compressively fit to the tank 30with O-rings 410. A pick-up tube 420 disposed in the tank is connectedto the tube 60 through the reducing barb union 400.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thermo-electric heater 500 can be disposed in thebottom of the tank 30 to heat the rinsing fluid contained therein. Aheated rinsing fluid will more effectively clean objects. In order topromote the portability and utility of the cleaning device, the heatercan be powered by a cigarette lighter receptacle. In this case, theheater 500 can be powered by a 12 volt/38 watt heater, which can beattached to the cigarette lighter receptacle through an adapter cord(not shown). Also, a bucket of rinsing water (not shown), or a towel(not shown) can be used to clean the bristles 240 of the brush 50periodically while using the cleaning device.

The tank 30 is re-filled by releasing the vent lever 45, removing thetank from the base frame 20, and adding the rinsing fluid to the tankusing a plastic funnel.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect toexemplary embodiments thereof, various other changes, additions andomissions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A cleaning device comprising: a storage tank which holds cleaningfluid for cleaning an object; a pressurizer which pressurizes saidcleaning fluid stored in said storage tank; a base frame which supportssaid storage tank and said pressurizer; a brush for cleaning saidobject; a sprayer disposed in said brush, wherein said sprayer sprayssaid cleaning fluid onto said object to be cleaned; and a hose forsupplying said cleaning fluid stored in said storage tank to saidsprayer.
 2. A cleaning device comprising: a storage tank which holdscleaning fluid for cleaning an object; a pressurizer which pressurizessaid cleaning fluid stored in said storage tank; a brush for cleaningsaid object; a sprayer disposed in said brush, wherein said sprayersprays said cleaning fluid onto said object to be cleaned; and a hosefor supplying said cleaning fluid stored in said storage tank to saidsprayer.
 3. A cleaning device, as set forth in claim 1, furthercomprising: wheels attached to said base frame for supporting said baseframe; and a handle extending from said base frame for manipulating andmoving said cleaning device.
 4. A cleaning device, as set forth in claim3, wherein said handle is extendable.
 5. A cleaning device as set forthin claim 1, wherein said sprayer is positioned within approximately 2 cmfrom a distal end of said brush.
 6. A cleaning device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said brush includes: a flat portion disposed at adistal end of said brush; and a handle extension extending away fromsaid flat end portion.
 7. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 3,wherein said handle includes a clip for holding said brush.
 8. Acleaning device as set forth in claim 1, further including a containerholder for holding a container containing a cleaning solution.
 9. Acleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pressurizer is abattery powered pressurizer.
 10. A cleaning device as set forth in claim1, wherein said pressurizer is a hand-operated pump.
 11. A cleaningdevice as set forth in claim 3, wherein said handle includes a curvedend portion.
 12. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 11, whereinsaid curved end portion of said handle includes a grip cover forpromoting gripability of said handle.
 13. A cleaning device as set forthin claim 1, wherein said brush includes a handle extension portion. 14.A cleaning device as set forth in claim 13, wherein said handleextension portion includes a grip cover for promoting gripability ofsaid brush.
 15. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 3, wherein saidhandle is retractable.
 16. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 1,wherein said sprayer includes an end cap for adjusting the flowcharacteristics of said sprayer.
 17. A cleaning device as set forth inclaim 16, wherein said end cap adjusts the flow rate of said sprayer.18. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 16, wherein said end capadjusts the spray pattern of said sprayer.
 19. A cleaning device as setforth in claim 1, wherein said brush includes a lever for controllingthe flow of said cleaning fluid through said sprayer.
 20. A cleaningdevice as set forth in claim 1, further including a heater disposed insaid tank for heating said rinsing fluid.
 21. A cleaning device as setforth in claim 20, wherein said heater is powered by a cigarettelighter.
 22. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidsprayer is disposed inside said brush.
 23. A cleaning device as setforth in claim 22, wherein said brush comprises two molded portions,said sprayer and a tube connecting said sprayer to said hose beingdisposed between said two molded portions.
 24. A cleaning device as setforth in claim 6, wherein said sprayer is disposed on an outer surfaceof said flat portion.
 25. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 19,wherein said lever controls a variable flow valve.
 26. A cleaning deviceas set forth in claim 19, wherein said lever controls an inclinedirectional check valve.
 27. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 6,wherein said handle extension is extendable to increase the length ofthe brush.
 28. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, furtherincluding a lifting strap for assisting in lifting the cleaning device.29. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 28, wherein said liftingstrap is attached to lower portion of said tank.
 30. A cleaning deviceas set forth in claim 28, wherein said lifting strap is made of a nylonmaterial.